A Servant’s Tawbah Lies Between Two Tawbahs from His Lord: Ibn al-Qayyim

In one of his celebrated writings, the great scholar ibn al-Qayyim wrote:

فصل توبة العبد بين توبتين من ربه

A Servant’s Tawbah Lies Between Two Tawbahs from His Lord

وتوبة العبد إلى الله محفوفة بتوبة من الله عليه قبلها ، وتوبة منه بعدها ، فتوبته بين توبتين من ربه ، سابقة ولاحقة ، فإنه تاب عليه أولا إذنا وتوفيقا وإلهاما ، فتاب العبد ، فتاب الله عليه ثانيا ، قبولا وإثابة ، قال الله سبحانه وتعالى لقد تاب الله على النبي والمهاجرين والأنصار الذين اتبعوه في ساعة العسرة من بعد ما كاد يزيغ قلوب فريق منهم ثم تاب عليهم إنه بهم رءوف رحيم وعلى الثلاثة الذين خلفوا حتى إذا ضاقت عليهم الأرض بما رحبت وضاقت عليهم أنفسهم وظنوا أن لا ملجأ من الله إلا إليه ثم تاب عليهم ليتوبوا إن الله هو التواب الرحيم فأخبر سبحانه أن توبته عليهم سبقت توبتهم ، وأنها هي التي جعلتهم تائبين ، فكانت سببا مقتضيا لتوبتهم ، فدل على أنهم ما تابوا حتى تاب الله تعالى عليهم ، والحكم ينتفي لانتفاء علته . ـ

A servant’s tawbah is surrounded by tawbah from Allah towards him beforehand and tawbah from Him afterwards, such that his tawbah lies between two tawbahs from his Lord – one before and one after. For Allah turns to Him firstly by permitting, enabling and inspiring him to repent. Then the servant repents, so Allah turns to Him in forgiveness a second time by accepting his repentance and rewarding him for it.

Allah said:

لَّقَد تَّابَ اللَّهُ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ وَالْمُهَاجِرِينَ وَالْأَنصَارِ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُ فِي سَاعَةِ الْعُسْرَةِ مِن بَعْدِ مَا كَادَ يَزِيغُ قُلُوبُ فَرِيقٍ مِّنْهُمْ ثُمَّ تَابَ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ إِنَّهُ بِهِمْ رَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ * وَعَلَى الثَّلَاثَةِ الَّذِينَ خُلِّفُوا حَتَّىٰ إِذَا ضَاقَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الْأَرْضُ بِمَا رَحُبَتْ وَضَاقَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ أَنفُسُهُمْ وَظَنُّوا أَن لَّا مَلْجَأَ مِنَ اللَّهِ إِلَّا إِلَيْهِ ثُمَّ تَابَ عَلَيْهِمْ لِيَتُوبُوا ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ ‎

Allah has certainly turned to the Prophet, the Muhajiroon and the Ansar who followed him during the hour of difficulty after the hearts of a group of them had almost gone astray, and then He turned to them [in forgiveness]. He is certainly Kind, Merciful. * And [He also turned in forgiveness] to three of those who were left behind to the point that the earth closed in on them in spite of its vastness and their souls became tightened and they were certain that there is no refuge from Allah except in Him. Then He turned to them so they could repent. Allah is Accepting of Repentance, Merciful. [9:117-118]

The Story of Tu’mah ibn Ubayriq: Tafsir al-Baghawi

In his tafsir of surah al-Nisa’ ayaat 105-116, Imam Abu Muhammad al-Husayn al-Baghawi explained the context of their original revelation which revolves around the story of Tu’mah ibn Ubayriq:

قوله تعالى : ( إنا أنزلنا إليك الكتاب بالحق لتحكم بين الناس بما أراك الله ) الآية ، روى الكلبي عن أبي صالح عن ابن عباس قال : نزلت هذه الآية في رجل من الأنصار يقال له طعمة بن أبيرق من بني ظفر بن الحارث سرق درعا من جار له يقال له قتادة بن النعمان ، وكانت الدرع في جراب فيه دقيق فجعل الدقيق ينتثر من خرق في الجراب حتى انتهى إلى الدار ، ثم خبأها عند رجل من اليهود ، يقال له زيد بن السمين ، فالتمست الدرع عند طعمة فحلف : بالله ما أخذها وما له بها من علم ، فقال أصحاب الدرع : لقد رأينا أثر الدقيق حتى دخل داره ، فلما حلف تركوه واتبعوا أثر الدقيق إلى منزل اليهودي فأخذوه منه ، فقال اليهودي دفعها إلي طعمة بن أبيرق ، فجاء بنو ظفر وهم قوم طعمة إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وسألوه أن يجادل عن صاحبهم ، وقالوا له : إنك إن لم تفعل افتضح صاحبنا ، فهم رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أن يعاقب اليهودي . ـ

إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ لِتَحْكُمَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ بِمَا أَرَاكَ اللَّهُ ۚ وَلَا تَكُن لِّلْخَائِنِينَ خَصِيمًا

We certainly sent the Scripture down to you in truth in order for you to judge between the people according to what Allah has showed you. And do not be an advocate for the deceitful ones. [4:105]

al-Kalbi narrated from Abu Salih that ibn ‘Abbas said:

This ayah was revealed about an Ansari man named Tu’mah ibn Ubayriq of the Banu Thafr ibn al-Harith tribe. He stole a piece of armor from one of his neighbors, Qatadah ibn al-Nu’man. The armor was in a bag with some flour and the flour spilled out through a hole in the bag such that it left a trail back to his house. Tu’mah then hid it with a Jewish man named Zayd ibn al-Sameen. The armor’s owners went to look for it with Tu’mah, but Tu’mah swore by Allah that he hadn’t taken it and that he didn’t know anything about it. The armor’s owners said, “We saw a trail of flour leading into your house,” but when Tu’mah swore they let him be and followed the trail of flour to the Jew’s house where they took the armor from him. The Jew said, “Tu’mah ibn Ubayriq gave it to me!” Banu Thafr – Tu’mah’s tribe – went to the Prophet and asked him to weigh in on the dispute on behalf of their kinsman, saying, “If you don’t, then our kinsman will be disgraced!” At that point, the Prophet intended to punish the Jewish man [and then this ayah was revealed].

Types of Differences Between the Qira’at: Ibn Juzay

In his introduction to his well-known book of tafsir, Ibn Juzay included a series of chapters introducing the essential sciences of the Qur’an. He wrote the following regarding the qira’at:

الباب الثامن في جوامع القراءات

Chapter 8: Regarding the Qira’at

وهي على نوعين: مشهورة، وشاذة. المشهورة: القراءات السبع، وهو حرف نافع المدني، وابن كثير المكي، وأبو عمرو بن العلاء البصري، وابن عامر الشامي، وعاصم، وحمزة والكسائي، الكوفيَيْن، ويجري مجراهم في الصحة والشهرة: يعقوب الحضرمي، وابن محيصن، ويزيد بن القعقاع. والشاذة ما سوى ذلك، وإنما سميت شاذة؛ لعدم استفاضتها في النقل، وقد تكون فصيحة اللفظ، وقوية المعنى. ـ

The qira’at can be divided into two types

1. Well-known – mashhoor
2. Non-canonical – shaadh

The well-known ones are the seven qira’at, which are the recitations of

1. Nafi’ of al-Madinah
2. ibn Kathir of Makkah
3. Abu ‘Amr ibn al-‘Alaa’ of al-Basra
4. ibn ‘Aamir of Syria
5. ‘Asim of al-Kufah
6. Hamzah of al-Kufah
7. al-Kisaa’i of al-Kufah

And this category also includes any other recitations which are similarly sound and well-known such as:

• Ya’qub al-Hadhrami
• ibn al-Muhaysin [1][2]
• Yazid ibn al-Qa’qa’

And the non-canonical qira’at are any recitations outside of that. They are called shaadh – literally “odd” – because they have not reached a level of widespread transmission even though they may have eloquent wordings and powerful meanings.

The Linguistic Meaning of the Word “al-Qur’an”: al-Suyooti

In his famous manual for the Qur’an sciences, al-Itqan fee ‘Uloom al-Qur’an, Jalal al-Deen al-Suyooti included an in-depth discussion about the linguistic root and meaning of the word al-Qur’an. We have added some section headers in brackets [] to help with navigation:

وأما القرآن : فاختلف فيه ، فقال جماعة : هو اسم علم غير مشتق ، خاص بكلام الله . فهو غير مهموز ، وبه قرأ ابن كثير ، وهو مروي عن الشافعي ، أخرج البيهقي والخطيب وغيرهما عنه : أنه كان يهمز قرأت ، ولا يهمز القرآن ويقول : القران اسم وليس بمهموز ولم يؤخذ من قراءة ولكنه اسم لكتاب الله ، مثل التوراة والإنجيل . ـ

As for the word al-Qur’an, the scholars have differed regarding its linguistic meaning.

[Those who held that its meaning was not tied to its root letters]

Some have said that is is a title whose root letters do not reflect anything about its meaning and that this title is reserved exclusively for Allah’s Speech. This is without a hamzah,

القران

al-Qurān

which is how the reciter ibn Kathir recited it.

This position has been transmitted as that of al-Shafi’ee. al-Bayhaqi, al-Khatib and others reported that al-Shafi’ee used to articulate a hamzah in the word

قرأت

qara’tu

I read

but would not articulate a hamzah in the word

القران

al-Qurān

saying:

al-Qurān is a title which does not include a hamzah and it is not derived from qirā’ah – “recitation”. Rather, it is the title of Allah’s Book in a similar manner to al-Tawrah and al-Injeel.

Do Not Deviate Regarding Allah’s Names: Tafsir al-Baghawi

Allah says in surah al-A’raaf:

وَلِلَّهِ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَىٰ فَادْعُوهُ بِهَا ۖ وَذَرُوا الَّذِينَ يُلْحِدُونَ فِي أَسْمَائِهِ ۚ سَيُجْزَوْنَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

To Allah belong the beautiful Names so call on Him by them, and leave those who deviate regarding His Names. They will be repayed for what they used to do. [7:180]

Commenting on this, Imam Abu Muhammad al-Husayn al-Baghawi wrote:

قوله تعالى : ( ولله الأسماء الحسنى فادعوه بها ) قال مقاتل : وذلك أن رجلا دعا الله في صلاته ودعا الرحمن ، فقال بعض مشركي مكة : إن محمدا – صلى الله عليه وسلم – وأصحابه يدعون أنهم يعبدون ربا واحدا ، فما بال هذا يدعو اثنين؟ فأنزل الله – عز وجل – : ” ولله الأسماء الحسنى فادعوه بها ” . والحسنى تأنيث الأحسن كالكبرى والصغرى ، فادعوه بها . ـ

Regarding Allah’s statement:

وَلِلَّهِ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَىٰ فَادْعُوهُ بِهَا

To Allah belong the beautiful Names so call on Him by them …

Muqatil said:

That is for a person to call on Allah and to call on al-Rahman during His prayer, for some of the mushrikoon of Mecca used to said, “Muhammad and his followers claim that they only worship one lord, so then why do they call out to two?” Allah then revealed:

وَلِلَّهِ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَىٰ فَادْعُوهُ بِهَا

To Allah belong the beautiful Names so call on Him by them …

And the word al-husna is the feminine form of al-ahsan, similar in form to the words al-kubra and al-sughra.

فَادْعُوهُ بِهَا

… so call on Him by them …

What is the I’rab of the Qur’an?: al-Suyooti

al-Suyooti wrote the following under his discussion of the ghareeb of the Qur’an, i.e. its unfamiliar vocabulary:

وينبغي الاعتناء به فقد أخرج البيهقي من حديث أبي هريرة مرفوعا : أعربوا القرآن والتمسوا غرائبه . وأخرج مثله عن عمر ، وابن عمر ، وابن مسعود موقوفا . ـ

One ought to give attention to learning the meanings of unfamiliar words in the Qur’an, for al-Bayhaqi mentions a hadith transmitted by Abu Hurayrah:

Apply i’rab to the Qur’an, and search for the meanings of its unfamiliar wordings.

He also reported similar statements from ‘Umar, ibn ‘Umar, and ibn Mas’ood.

وأخرج من حديث ابن عمر مرفوعا : من قرأ القرآن فأعربه ، كان له بكل حرف عشرون حسنة ، ومن قرأه بغير إعراب كان له بكل حرف عشر حسنات . ـ

And he reported a hadith transmitted by ibn ‘Umar:

Whoever recites the Qur’an and applies i’rab to it, then he will have 20 rewards for each letter. Whoever recites it without i’rab, then he will have 10 rewards for each letter.

Does the Qur’an Contain Non-Arabic Words: Sheikh ‘Abd al-Kareem al-Khudhayr

Sheikh ‘Abd al-Kareem al-Khudhayr once mentioned:

قوله تعالى: {بِلِسَانٍ عَرَبِيٍّ مُبِينٍ} [الشعراء: 195] مفهوم الآية: أن القرآن كله {بِلِسَانٍ عَرَبِيٍّ مُّبِينٍ}، ليس فيه من غير لغة العرب شيء، وأهل العلم يُجمعون على أن القرآن ليس فيه جمل ولا تراكيب أعجمية، كما أنهم يُجمعون على وجود الأعلام الأعجمية فيه، لكن اختلفوا في وجود ألفاظ ليست تراكيب ولا أعلام: ـ

Regarding Allah’s statement:

بِلِسَانٍ عَرَبِيٍّ مُّبِينٍ

In a clear Arabic language [26:195]

The apparent meaning one takes away from this ayah is that the entire Qur’an is “in a clear Arabic language” without containing anything that is not part of the Arabic language.

The scholars are in agreement that the Qur’an does not contains any non-Arabic sentences or structures.

Likewise, they are also in agreement about the presence of some non-Arabic proper nouns within it.

However, they do differ as to whether it contains any non-Arabic words outside of those aforementioned categories.

The Importance of Context in Understanding the Qur’an: Ibn al-Qayyim

In one of his writings, ibn al-Qayyim wrote:

فائدة: إرشادات السياق

A Point of What Can Be Derived from the Context

السياق يرشد إلى تبيين المجمل وتعيين المحتمل والقطع بعدم احتمال غير المراد. وتخصيص العام وتقييد المطلق وتنوع الدلالة. ـ

Context aids in:

• clarifying what is presented in general language
• identifying the intended meaning of something that could be understood in more than one way
• definitively ruling out potential interpretations that were not what was intended
• specifying what is presented is broadly-applicable language
• limiting what is presented in broadly-applicable terms
• interpreting the text in multiple valid ways

وهذا من أعظم القرائن الدالة على مراد المتكلم. فمن أهمله غلط في نظره، وغالط في مناظرته. فانظر إلى قوله تعالى: { ذق إنك أنت العزيز الكريم } كيف تجد سياقه يدل على أنه الذليل الحقير. ـ

Context is one of the most important factors in demonstrating what the speaker meant. If someone were to ignore the context, they would come to misunderstandings and errant views.

The Linguistic Meaning of the Word “al-Qur’an”: Tafsir al-Baghawi

In his famous book of tafsir at the first mention of the word “Qur’an” in the mushaf [see surah al-Baqarah 185], Imam Abu Muhammad al-Baghawi wrote:

سمي القرآن قرآنا لأنه يجمع السور والآي ، والحروف وجمع فيه القصص والأمر والنهي والوعد ، والوعيد . وأصل القرء الجمع وقد يحذف الهمز منه فيقال قريت الماء في الحوض إذا جمعته وقرأ ابن كثير ” القران ” بفتح الراء غير مهموز وكذلك كان يقرأ الشافعي ويقول ليس هو من القراءة ولكنه اسم لهذا الكتاب كالتوراة والإنجيل

The Qur’an is called “Qur’an” because it brings together the surahs, ayaat and letters and it brings together stories, commands, prohibitions, promises and threats.

The root meaning of the word qar’ [ ق ر ء ] is “gathering”, and the letter hamzah can be omitted from it. For instance, one could say, “qarayt water in a cistern” when he gathered water together.

Why is Jibril Called a Rooh?: Sheikh ‘Abd al-Razzaq al-Badr

In one of his classes in al-Masjid al-Nabawi, sheikh ‘Abd al-Razzaq al-Badr mentioned the following point of benefit:

قوله تعالى { تَنَزَّلُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ وَالرُّوحُ فِيهَا} أي: جبريل، فجبريل هو المراد بقوله {الروح} . وهنا يأتي سؤال لماذا سمي جبريل روحًا؟، قالوا: لأنه ينزل بالوحي الذي به حياة القلوب، كما أن الوحي نفسه روحًا؛ لأن به حياة القلوب في مثل قوله تعال: {وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ رُوحًا مِّنْ أَمْرِنَا} سمى الوحي روحًا، وسمى من ينزل بالوحي وهو جبريل روحًا؛ لأن بالوحي حياة القلوب

Allah’s statement:

تَنَزَّلُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ وَالرُّوحُ فِيهَا

On that night, the angels and the Rooh descend … [97:4]

i.e. Jibril, for Jibril is who is meant by Allah’s statement “the Rooh“.

Here one might ask, “why is Jibril called Rooh – a soul -?”

The scholars say: because he comes down with the revelation, and it is through this that the hearts have life.

Likewise, the revelation itself is a Rooh, because it is through this that the hearts have life. This usage comes, for instance, in Allah’s statement: